Basketball has emerged as the fastest growing major sport in the United States. A recent study indicated that more than 46,000,000 Americans played basketball at least once in 1996. The sport is seeing similar growth and popularity outside the United States as well. Many are serious players; almost 13,000,000 Americans played basketball fifty times in 1996.
As is well known, the aim in the game of basketball is for a player to shoot a basketball through a "basket" (rim with attached net). Basketballs are designed to meet league (i.e., National Basketball Association [NBA], National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] and Women's National Basketball Association [WNBA]) specifications and to maximize the "grip" of a player's hands on the basketball. A good grip is viewed as aiding in improving the "game" (shooting accuracy and dribbling control) of the player.
Conventional basketballs have an outer surface with a number of irregularities such as seams, corrugation and stippling. FIG. 1 shows a conventional basketball 10. As shown, basketball 10 includes an outer cover layer 12 consisting of a number of panels 12A, 12B, 12C, etc. Each panel (e.g., 12A) is separated from an adjacent panel (e.g., 12B) by a different one (e.g., 14A) of a number of seams 14A, 14B, 14C, etc. The outer surface of each panel includes corrugation and stippling. Often, basketballs also include surface indicia or labeling (not shown in the basketball of FIG. 1) on one or more of the panels, which indicia or labeling is raised or indented with respect to the outer surface of the cover layer.
It is known that some players rely on a certain orientation of the basketball and/or certain degree of grip (referred to as the "feel" of the ball) before shooting the ball. Such players practice by orienting the basketball so that their fingers grip the ball in desired locations relative to the seams and/or wait until the desired feel is achieved before shooting. Without the desired orientation and/or feel, these players arc less comfortable shooting the ball. Such shooting habits can negatively affect the game of the player, either in terms of the shooting accuracy or shooting release time of the player. This is so because often in game situations, time may not be available to orient the ball or insure a sufficient grip before shooting. In addition, poor shooting form is sometimes compensated for by too much reliance on control by the fingers. The stippling specifically permits such control.
Conventional basketballs suffer the drawback of being poor practice balls for those who have or may develop the above-mentioned shooting habits.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,002 to Myer discloses a basketball having a cover with an outer surface devoid of seams, stitching and indicia. The cover does, however, include uniform stippling along the entire outer surface to improve the grip of the basketball.
The basketball disclosed in the Myer patent also suffers the drawback of being a poor practice ball due to the improved grip provided by the stippling. A player may learn through practice with the Meyer basketball to rely on the improved grip and feel of the stippling prior to shooting. As noted, such reliance may negatively effect the game of the player.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a basketball having a substantially smooth outer surface, devoid of conventional basketball seams, corrugation, stippling and other surface irregularities, besides an air intake and release valve, discernable through the feel of the basketball. It is another object of the invention to provide a basketball that will force reliance upon mechanical basics of shooting other than through the fingers.